Owners of swimming pools, spas or similar recreational water appliances often desire to install fountains in them to provide a decorative effect or to provide relaxing background sound, especially when the, e.g., pool is not being used, such as during the evening. Typically, a fountain must be served by a pressurized water supply. The water is delivered to a nozzle or fountain head having one or more discharge orifices. The pressurized water is discharged at or above the surface of the water in the pool through the nozzle or fountain head in a spray.
In a swimming pool, the water supply is usually delivered by the recirculating and filtering system. However, most fountains have been found to be unsuitable for use in swimming pools. Generally, the prior art devices require special installation into the pool structure, clutter the pool with structures both below and above the water land, are not readily removable, and, if allowed to remain in the pool during active use, may constitute safety hazards for people using the pool or spa.
A particularly vexatious problem is the requirement of special installation. Many prior art swimming pool fountains require installation during construction of the pool itself or require modification of some structural aspect of the existing pool. For example, one such fountain requires installation in the floor of a swimming pool. See, for example, Stewart, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,816, issued Mar. 27, 1973. Another fountain system provides a plurality of discharge nozzles around the periphery of the pool and requires installation of quick disconnect coupling sockets within the pool wall. See, for example, Bellinson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,571, issued May 4, 1971. Yet another fountain system requires encasement of nozzles in the leading edge of the coping around the swimming pool. See, for example, Stillman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,852, issued Aug. 27, 1974.
Yet another problem in many pool fountains is lack of regulation of the water flow to the discharge head of the fountain. Most swimming pool fountains simply have an on-off valve installed at some point in the water recirculating system. See, for example, Stewart, et al., '816, and Bellinson, et al., '571.
Other deficiencies in most fountains include the lack of variability of the spray pattern and the pitch of the spray. Most fountains have fixed spray patterns as the water is usually discharged from a nozzle or a fixed head. See, for example, Bellinson, et al., '571. A prior art fountain has been described where the spray pattern may be varied by changing the fountain head. See, for example, Stewart, et al., '816. Most fountains have fixed spray pitch, i.e., the angle of the spray as it emerges from the fountain head relative to the surface of the water in the pool. Most nozzles or fountain heads are fixed in a vertical position. See, for example, Bellinson, et al., '571, and Stewart, et al., '816. Furthermore, the prior art referenced above does not provide for added aesthetics, to be provided by associating a lighting system with the fountain devices.
Despite recognition of these problems, none of the prior art apparatus provides features of installation in existing pool equipment, use in either above-ground or in-ground pools or smaller units such as spas or hot tubs, variable spray patterns, or the additional aesthetic enhancement of lighting of the water spray. The present invention provides a swimming pool fountain capable of connection with any existing water source, variable spray patterns, convenient adjustment to any water level height, and illumination of the fountain spray.